Judges 12
New American Standard Bible
Jephthah and His Successors
12 Now the men of Ephraim were summoned, and they crossed [a]to Zaphon; and (A)they said to Jephthah, “Why did you cross over to fight against the sons of Ammon without calling us to go with you? We will burn your house down on you!” 2 So Jephthah said to them, “I and my people were in a major dispute with the sons of Ammon; and I did call you, but you did not save me from their hand. 3 When I saw that you were no deliverer, I [b](B)took my life in my hands and crossed over against the sons of Ammon, and the Lord handed them over to me. Why then have you come up to me this day to fight against me?” 4 Then Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and fought Ephraim; and the men of Gilead [c]defeated Ephraim, because they said, “You are survivors of Ephraim, you Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim and in the midst of Manasseh.” 5 And the Gileadites (C)took control of the crossing places of the Jordan opposite Ephraim. And it happened whenever any of the survivors of Ephraim said, “Let me cross over,” that the men of Gilead would say to him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he said, “No,” 6 then they would say to him, “Just say, ‘Shibboleth.’” But he said, “Sibboleth,” for he was not [d]prepared to [e]pronounce it correctly. Then they seized him and slaughtered him at the crossing places of the Jordan. So at that time forty-two thousand from Ephraim fell.
7 Jephthah judged Israel for six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.
8 Now Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel after him. 9 He had thirty sons, and thirty daughters whom he [f]gave in marriage outside the family, and he brought in thirty daughters from outside for his sons. And he judged Israel for seven years. 10 Then Ibzan died and was buried in Bethlehem.
11 Now Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel after him; he judged Israel for ten years. 12 Then Elon the Zebulunite died and was buried at Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.
13 Now Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite judged Israel after him. 14 He had forty sons and thirty grandsons who rode on seventy donkeys; and he judged Israel for eight years. 15 Then Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died and was buried at Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.
Footnotes
- Judges 12:1 Or northward
- Judges 12:3 Lit put my soul in my palm
- Judges 12:4 Lit struck
- Judges 12:6 Some Heb mss read able to
- Judges 12:6 Lit speak
- Judges 12:9 Lit sent outside
Judges 12
International Standard Version
Jephthah’s Dispute with the Tribe of Ephraim
12 A little while later, the army of Ephraim was mustered, and they crossed to Zaphon. They confronted Jephthah and asked, “Why did you cross over to fight the Ammonites without calling us to accompany you? We’re going to burn your house down around you!”
2 But Jephthah replied to them, “My army and I were engaged in a serious fight with the Ammonites. I called for you, but you didn’t deliver me from their control. 3 When I saw that you wouldn’t be delivering me, I took my own life in my hands, crossed over to fight the Ammonites, and the Lord gave them into my control. So why have you come here today to fight me?” 4 Then Jephthah mustered all the men of Gilead, fought the tribe of Ephraim, and defeated them, because they had been claiming, “You descendants of Gilead are fugitives in the midst of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.”
Shibboleth vs. Sibboleth
5 The descendants of Gilead seized control of the Jordan River’s fords along the border of Ephraim’s territory.[a] Later on, when any fugitive from Ephraim asked them, “Let me cross over,” the men from Gilead would ask him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he said “No,” 6 they would order him, “Pronounce the word ‘Shibboleth’ right now.” If he said “Sibboleth,” not being able to pronounce it correctly, they would seize him and slaughter him there at the fords of the Jordan River. During those days 42,000 descendants of Ephraim died that way. 7 Jephthah governed Israel for six years. Then Jephthah died and was buried somewhere in the cities of Gilead.
Ibzan, Israel’s Ninth Judge
8 After he died,[b] Ibzan from Bethlehem governed Israel for ten years. 9 He had 30 sons and 30 daughters, but he gave his daughters[c] in marriage to outsiders and brought in 30 outsiders[d] for his sons. He governed Israel for seven years, 10 then he died and was buried in Bethlehem.
Elon, Israel’s Tenth Judge
11 Elon the Zebulunite governed Israel after him for ten years. 12 Then Elon the Zebulunite died and was buried in Aijalon within the territory of Zebulun.
Abdon, Israel’s Eleventh Judge
13 Hillel the Pirathonite’s son Abdon governed Israel after him. 14 He had 40 sons and 30 grandsons who rode on 70 donkeys. He governed Israel for eight years. 15 Then he died and was buried at Pirathon in the territory of Ephraim, in the mountainous region[e] of the Amalekites.
Footnotes
- Judges 12:5 Lit. fords opposite Ephraim
- Judges 12:8 Lit. After him
- Judges 12:9 Lit. gave them
- Judges 12:9 Lit. 30 daughters from outside
- Judges 12:15 Or the hill country
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